Proper Job Mussels with Cabbage and Bacon

Image courtesy of St Austell Brewery Company Limited

These Proper Job mussels with cabbage and bacon are a favourite recipe of Jack Stein's.

Jack Stein: 'Proper Job is a powerfully hopped IPA that’s packed full of flavour, making it the perfect beer to use as an ingredient in cooking – whether it be to complement existing flavours in the dish, or to make them more pronounced on the palette.

'Proper Job mussels with cabbage and bacon has been a long-time favourite recipe of mine. We initially developed the dish for our annual beer and mussel festival at our pub, The Cornish Arms, in St Merryn near Padstow. The hoppy flavours and crisp, refreshing finish of Proper Job make it the perfect match for the sweetness of the mussels and the smoky flavour of the bacon.'

Ingredients

1.8kg washed mussels

For the base

1 diced shallot

1 clove chopped garlic

600ml chicken stock

100ml Proper Job

300g very thinly sliced savoy cabbage

100g slice cooked streaky bacon

100g chopped butter

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Method

For the base, add the shallot garlic and chicken stock into a pan and reduce by half, then add the beer and reduce on a gentle simmer for a further 10 minutes

Reserve.

Slowly cook the cabbage and bacon in a large pan in butter until soft, then increase the heat and add the mussels. Pour in the base and cover the pan and steam the mussels for 4-5 minutes until open.